Duck call



March 1960 c. L .VJOHNSON 2,928,209

, 4 "DUCK CALL Filed Aug. 14, 1958 8 I BY nited tates Patent nncrrcau.

Charles L. Johnson, Poplar Bluff, Mo., assignor to Robert eyrnour Lynch, an individual Application August 14, 1958, Serial No. 754,974

3 Claims. (Cl. 46-180) The invention relates to a hunting instrument for imitating the calls of wild fowl.

Instruments of this type are known as calls, e;g. a duck call, goose call and the like. In general they may be described as a reed wind instrument which consists of a tubular body or barrel with a-reed pipe removably mounted in it. The reed pipe goes into one end of the barrel like a stopper and the hunter blows into the other end. The reed pipe has an inward extension called a palate and the reed is mounted so as to bear against the palate. sensitive and the slightest change in the adjustment can so distort the quality of the call as to frighten the birds rather than bring them in. Maladjustmentscan occur The adjustment of the reed mounting is quite Patented Mar. 15, 1969 problem of change in adjustment as produced by presinvention.

Fig. 4 is a perspective view of the metal reed of my invention.

when the instrument is taken apart for cleaning and reassembled, or through distortion of the reed mounting by temperature changes orother atmospheric disturbances. The satisfactory retention of the correct reed adjustment has long been a matter of serious concern to bird hunters and to manufacturers of game bird calls. Sometimes the reed is held to the palate by a separate pressure block and a ring. This is fussy for the hunter to handle when he takes the call apart for cleaning, and when he puts it back together the proper adjustment can easily be lost. Other schemes have involved holding the reed by means of pressure blocks formed integrally with either the pipe or the barrel, but such alternatives have, When the pressure. block is made as a part of the barrel, the adjustment can not been quite satisfactory either.

be disturbed by taking the call apart, because too much depends on how it is put back together and whether exact alignment of the parts is secured under-just the right pressure upon pushing the pipe into the barrel. And when the pressure block is made as a part of either the pipe or the barrel, heat or other atmospheric conditions can cause it to warp out of line andcompletely alter the imitative capabilities of the instrument.

It is an object of my invention-to find a more adequate solution of the problem how to hold the reed to the palate in a manner which will preserve its sensitive adjustment under all normal conditions of use by the hunter.

According to my invention, the reed is held against critical relationship to the palate.

end of reverse bend 14 may be provided for further Fig. 5 is a cross section taken as shown at 5-5 in V Fig. 3.

pressure block arrangements of the prior art in which warping of the block B or its'mounting causes it to move from its proper relation to the palate, Fig. 1, to a position of misalignment, Fig 2. The angle of misalignment is represented at a. Pressure of reed R against palate P is decreased. Such a-distortion can change the call from one which will bring in ducks to one which will scare them. This is what my invention seeks to avoid.

, In my preferred construction as shown in Figs. 3 to 5, inclusive, the instrument comprises a tubular body or barrel 6 and a reed pipe 7 removably mounted therein,

the reed and palate, the reed being free of contact with all other parts of the assembly. One end 10 of the barrel forms amouthpiece and'the reed pipe 7 fits into the other end like a stopper. The outer end 11 of the reed pipe forms the horn of the instrument. The palate 8 has notched sides 12 forming shoulders 13'. The metal reed 9 has a reverse bend 14 at its base and hooked arms 15 extending from said reverse bend past the plane of te reed to provide a pair of snap hooks for attaching the. reed directly to the palate under a predetermined pressure bias. Projections 16 of the hooks are engaged under shoulders 13 of the" palate to furnish the interlocking engagement which holds the reed in the desired A flange '17 at the control of reed pressure. The reed pipe and barrel are the palate solely by interlocking means between the reed Referring to the drawing, i shall now describe the best mode contemplated by me for carrying out myinvention.

Figs. 1 and 2 are comparative diagrams to explain the preferably made of plastic material, but other materials may beused if desired. I

The terms and expressions which I have employed are used in a descriptive and not a limiting sense, and I have with the reverse bend being free of all other parts of the assembly.

2. A game bird call comprising a tubular body and a reed pipe removably mounted therein, the reed pipe including a palate and a reed, the base end of the reed having a reverse bend resiliently attached thereto, said reverse bend overlying and spaced from the portion of the reed adjacent said base end, and attaching means resiliently connected to and extending from the reverse bend past the plane of the reed and engaging the palate,

whereby the free end portion of the reverse bend opposite its resilient attachment is urged into contact with the reed and the reed is held in predetermined relationship to the palate under a predetermined pressure bias.

3. A game bird call comprising a tubular body and a reed pipe removably mounted therein, the reed pipe including a palate having notched sides and a reed, the base end of the reed having a reverse bend resiliently memos e r B 4 attached thereto, said reverse bend overlying and spaced Refierenees Cited in the file oi this parent from the portion of the reed adjacent said. base end, a

flange member extending from the free end of the re- UNITED STATES PATENTS verse bend oppesite its resilient attachment andin the direction of the reed, and hooked arms resiliently con- 5 2,317,458 Herter Apr. 27, 1943 nected to and extending frorn the reverse bend pest the 2,513, 15 Hal-{er Aug 5 1959 15 3;?fig; fi jfiii fii iiififfifg i ifijifi 255mg Press 1m 1951 V I c 1. l I tact with the reed and the reed is held in predetermined 2'714275 P 1955 relationship to the palate under a predetermined pres- 10 2333385 Wmtnss y 1958 sure bias. 

